Opportunity Maine
Applying for Opportunity Maine
Student Responsibilities
Initial Enrollment in the Opportunity Maine Program:
-
Students are expected to enroll in the Opportunity Maine Program during the first semester of their attendance at the institution.
-
Student fills out page 1 of the Opportunity Contract and completes the Disclosure Statement and submits the entire contract to the Financial Aid Office
-
Page 1 – Completion of this first page is solely the student’s responsibility. UMS will not verify the information contained therein.
Students may find the following information helpful as they complete the Opportunity Maine contract:
Item 1: Student verifies that s/he is a Maine resident (see state 21-A
MRSA, section 112 for definition of Maine resident).
Items 2-3: All coursework, whether for an associate’s or
baccalaureate degree, must be taken in the state of Maine. The
only exception is coursework approved by the student’s home
institution taken under an exchange agreement.
Item 4: Student must live and work in Maine during the period of time
sought for the tax credit.
Item 5: Student must maintain records of all loan payments claimed
under the tax credit for five years after those payments are
claimed for the credit.
Item 6: (1) Only loans taken as part of higher education financial aid
and those with a repayment term of least 8 years qualify for the
tax credit. (2) and (3) are self explanatory or, if more advise is
needed, seek the advise of a tax consultant.
Item 7: The student upon graduation is responsible for completing the
detail of their loan information on page two (2) of the contract,
and for filing the contract with the Secretary of State.
Item 8: This item is self explanatory. If more information is needed,
contact the servicer of your loan(s).
Item 9: Item 9 is self explanatory.
Upon Graduation:
Student notifies the Financial Aid Office at their home institution
-
The Financial Aid Office and Office of Student Records/Registrar will complete their portions of the form. For students already enrolled in associate or bachelor degrees when the program began on 1/1/08, only the percentage of the degree work completed after the effective date of the Opportunity Maine program qualifies for tax credits, and that percentage will be indicated on the Opportunity Contract. The Financial Aid Office will generate a listing of the student’s loans at that institution to assist the student in completing the bottom portion of page 2.
-
The entire contract plus the print out of loans and a copy of the Disclosure Form will be sent within a reasonable timeframe to the student.
NOTE: If you transfer to another institution in the state of Maine, it will be your responsibility to fill out a new Opportunity Maine Contract with that institution. You should obtain a listing of all loans and loan amounts from the institution you are leaving so that you have access to this when you eventually submit the paperwork for the tax credit. The following information may help you identify your loans:
Identify and List Your Loans
Once you identify which of your loans qualify for the tax credit, contact the sources listed below to obtain the information necessary to complete this part of your Opportunity Maine contract.
a. National Student Loan Database
This site contains information about your subsidized and unsubsidized federal loans, including Stafford and Perkins loans.
The site allows you to create an account in order to view current information about your loans.
To create the account, you’ll need the PIN (personally identifiable number) that was issued to you when you completed the FAFSA. If you have lost or forgotten your PIN, you can obtain a duplicate (or an original) at: http://www.pin.ed.gov/PINWebApp/pinindex.jsp.
Questions about information contained on NSLDS, can be directed to the Federal Student Aid Information Center at 1-800-4-FED-AID or TDD 1-800-730-8913, Monday through Friday (8am to midnight) or Saturday (9 am to 6 pm). Or you can send an e-mail to the Federal Student Aid Information Center.
b. Other alternative or private lenders
If you have also received alternative or private loans, you may contact those lenders for copies of pertinent loan documents and up-to-date information about your principal and rate of interest. Such lenders include, for example, the (MELA) Maine Education Loan Authority at 131 Presumpscot Street, Portland, ME 04103, 800-922-6352.
c. Other sources of information
You can also obtain information about your loan amounts by reviewing your Master Promissory Note (MPN) that you received from your lender. If you do not know who your lender is, you may be able to find this information on the NSLDS website.
Additional Steps that You Must Take to Claim Your Tax Credit
The University of Maine System's involvement ends at this point of the Opportunity Maine process. Nonetheless, the Opportunity Maine law requires you to undertake the following additional tasks.
1. Send your completed contract to Secretary of State
Once your university has certified both your graduation and loan status, and your contract is complete, you must send it to:
Secretary of State
148 State House Station
Augusta, ME 04333
Questions about this portion of the process may be directed to the Maine Secretary of State at 207-626-8400 or sos.office@maine.gov.
2. Claim your credit in your state tax filing
As of October 2008, the State of Maine has not yet issued a tax credit form for this program. Maine tax forms are available at http://www.maine.gov/revenue/forms/homepage.html.
Questions about this portion of the process should be directed to Maine Revenue Services. The Maine Taxpayer Service Center provides walk-in taxpayer assistance at 26 Edison Drive in Augusta, Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 4:30 pm. A phone directory for Maine Revenue Services is also available at http://www.maine.gov/revenue/homepagefiles/telephon.html.